America news stories on Newser

We're Close on AIDS: Don't Blow It Now, America

John Johnson — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:20:01 CST

Two big names—Bono and George W. Bush—weigh in on World AIDS Day, both with the general theme that tremendous progress has been made in the last decade but that it won't matter if the world, specifically the US, gets complacent now. Some highlights: Bono: How did all this...

Video Pokes at 50 State Stereotypes

Kate Schwartz — Mon, 30 May 2011 16:40:05 CDT

Every one of the 50 states will no doubt be teeming with barbecues, parades, and fireworks today. But that shared love of corn on the cob isn't the only thing the 50 states have in common. Each lays claim to a specific stereotype. Like, for instance, Indiana: "You have to...

Wake Up, America, You're in Dangerous Decline

John Johnson — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:19:27 CST

Fareed Zakaria is seriously worried about his adopted homeland of the United States. In a Time essay titled "Are America's Best Days Behind Us?" he makes the case that if they're not, they will be soon unless we wake up. The US may have been No. 1 for decades, but...

Sorry, Naysayers, US Isn't Doomed

John Johnson — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:10:22 CST

David von Drehle begs to differ with fellow Time writer Fareed Zakaria's gloomy view of America's future . These doomsayers have been around since the country was in diapers, and the modern ones love to "cherry-pick dismal statistics from here and there to create an overall image of decline," von Drehle...

Why We Hate to Be Called a Wuss

Mary Papenfuss — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 08:01:00 CST

You want to really hurt an American? Call him a wuss. That's why all hell broke loose last week when Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell called America a nation of wusses after the NFL canceled an Eagles game because of a snowstorm. We can't stand to be considered weak. "We were...

Simon & Garfunkel Lyrics Cover Dying Michigan Town

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 04:22:20 CST

Real life is underscoring art in a Midwest town even more poignantly than Paul Simon imagined. Simon and Garfunkel's famous tune " America " recounts a young man's journey from the working class Michigan town of Saginaw to seek his fortunes elsewhere. Now the song's bittersweet lyrics have turned up on vacant...

Four Ways America Could Completely Fall Apart by 2025

Evann Gastaldo — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 13:35:05 CST

The United States' power is declining, and its total demise as the global superpower could be here by 2025, asserts history professor and author Alfred W. McCoy. On Tom Dispatch , he offers four scenarios detailing how that could happen: Economic decline : Years and years of foreign wars swell the deficit,...

Rubio's Right: America Is Exceptional

John Johnson — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 15:20:21 CDT

Marco Rubio triumphed in Florida with a stump speech that focused on American exceptionalism, notes Andrew Ferguson in the Weekly Standard . (Sample line: "It's sometimes easy to forget how special America really is.") More Republicans would be wise to follow suit in part because it's true and in part...

Americans Don't Want Change

Nick McMaster — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:42:00 CDT

America projects an image of bold decisiveness. But while we deploy our troops to foreign soil without batting an eye, we're paralyzed when it comes to broad domestic changes, except in the throes of crisis, Neal Gabler writes for the LA Times . Sure, we make all the right resolutions come...